Handle device



g- 11, 1970 LE ROY J. ROSSOW 3,523,322

' HANDLE DEVICE Filed March 20, 1967 11-. INVENTOR. 9

B 1.5201 :2 EOSSOW JAM 5 M @hd United States Patent 3,523,322 HANDLEDEVICE Le Roy J. Rossow, 857 Rice St., St. Paul, Minn.

Filed Mar. 20, 1967, Ser. No. 624,501 Int. Cl. A47b 95/02 US. Cl. 16-1113 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Oftentimes, in the repair of oldmodel refrigerators, freezers, ranges and the like, a replacement handlemust be provided to manipulate the door of the unit. Typically, therepairman cannot repair the handle, which also serves as a latch, andmust supply a new handle which may be obsolete. Therefore provision mustbe made for a replacement handle and latch mechanismas required.

In my co-pending application entitled Magnetic Latch, filed Dec. 15,1966, under Ser. No. 602,037, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,403,933 I disclosedand claimed a magnetic latch as a replacement latch for refrigerators,freezers and the like. The replacement magnetic latch fits any and allunits and obviates the need for the repairman to stock latches forvarious types of obsolete units. However, 1 have found in utilizing themagnetic latch disclosed and claimed in the above entitled application,that a handle device must also be provided to replace combinationlatches and handles.

Handles presently on the market, which could serve as replacementhandles, typically do not fit all contoured surfaces. Further, a handlewhich would fit most contoured surfaces, may not fit the decor of theunit on which the handle was to be attached. Therefore a wide variety ofreplacement handles must be stocked by the repairman. Additionally, thereplacement handle must direct the forces exerted on the handle to openor close the door to the most advantageous position relative to thelocation of the replacement latch.

With these comments in mind, it is to the elimination of these and otherdisadvantages to which the present invention is directed along with theinclusion therein of other novel and desirable features;

An object of my invention is the provision of a new and improved handledevice of simple and inexpensive construction and operation for mountingon contoured surfaces.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a handle device formounting on any and all convexly contoured surfaces including surfaceswhich join at substantially 90.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of a handle devicefor mounting on contoured surfaces, which handle device directs theopening or closing forces to the most advantageous point relative to thelocation of a replacement latching mechanism on the door.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a handle device formounting on contoured surfaces which may be quickly and eflicientlyattached to a contoured surface by a person of minimum skill and manualdexterity.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will more fullyappear from the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to thesame or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the handle device of m invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the handle device of my invention shownon a refrigerator which includes a magnetic latch assembly attachedthereto;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an alternate attachment of myhandle device to a contoured surface;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another alternate attachment of myhandle device to a contoured surface;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged bottom, plan view taken along the lines 55 of FIG.3; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view taken along the lines 6-6of FIG. 3.

One form of the present invention is shown in the drawings and isdescribed herein.

The handle device of my invention, as shown in FIG. 1 generallyindicated by numeral 10, includes a grip. Grip 11 includes an elongatehand receiving portion 12 and an angulated bracket mounting portion 13integral therewith. At the other end of elongate hand receiving portion12, an angulated elongate bracket mounting portion 14 is integral withgrip 11. Bracket mounting portion 13 includes recess 15 and elongatebracket mounting portion 14 includes recess 16, on each side thereof.Typically, grip 11 is constructed of die cast zinc and is chrome plated.

A pair of mounting brackets 17 are shown attached to bracket mountingportions 13 and 14 respectively. The pair of mounting brackets 17includes a contoured surface engaging plate 19. Saddle 18 is defined byflanges 20 which are in'opposed parallel relation and project outwardlyfrom surface engaging plate 19. A reinforcing gusset 21 is positionedbetween flanges 20 and surface engaging plate 19. Mounting screw or boltreceiving openings 22 are positioned in surface engaging plate 19 toreceive screws therein to attach mounting bracket 17 to a contouredsurface. Typically, brackets 17 are contoured of die cast zinc and arechrome plated.

Bracket mounting portion 14 has opening 23 therein, transversely of theelongate grip, which passes through recess portion 16. Bracket mountingportion 13 has a corresponding opening not shown herein. The recesses ofthe respective bracket mounting portions 13 and 14 are sandwichedbetween flanges 20 of the pair of mounting brackets 17. Openings 24 inflanges 20 receive a roll or tension pin 20a therein rotatably mountingthe bracket mounting portions 13 and 14 to the brackets 17. The tensionpin is commercially available and is inserted through flange opening 24and through opening 23 in the recess of the bracket mounting portion.

Referring to FIG. 2, the handle device 10 is shown mounted on arefrigerator 25. A magnetic latch, indicated in general by numeral 26,is shown mounted on refrigerator 25. Handle 10 is shown on contoureddoor 27 with elongate bracket portion 14 positioned around the corner ofthe door for a mounting in which the respective mounting brackets 17 aresubstantially at right angles. In this position, elongate hand receivingportion 12 is substantially parallel with the front surface of the door.Since the handle device is moved very close to the outer edge of therefrigerator door, maximum pulling power is generated so that the forcesof magnetic latch 26 may readily be overcome.

In FIG. 3, handle device 10 is shown mounted on contoured surface door27' transverse to the hinge line of the door. It should be noted thatbracket mounting portion 14 is away from the hinge line. This orientsthe hand to pull at a point away from the hinge line thereby maximizingthe pulling forces. In FIG. 4, handle device is shown mounted on door27", upright and parallel with the hinge line. In this position, theelongate bracket mounting portion 14 is positioned upwardly therebyurging the hand upwardly. In the above manner, the pulling forces can beoriented as desired, depending upon the location of the latchingmechanism.

It should be noted, as shown in FIG. 5, that the relation between thebracket mounting portion 13 and the elongate bracket mounting portion14, as shown by the dimensions X and Y respectively, is approximately 2to 1. I have found that this is the optimum proportion between theopposed bracket mounting portions to provide a handle which may beutilized on any and all convexly contoured surfaces while providing afunctional and decorative handle which is easy to grip and manipulate.

In operation, the handle device 10 of my invention is assembled to acontoured surface by first positioning brackets 17 thereon. Grip 11 ispositioned, at each end thereof, in saddles 18; and a throwaway pin isinserted into aligned openings 23 and 24, temporarily assembling thegrip to the brackets in a manner which allows rotation between thebrackets and the grip. This rotation allows the repairman to mate thehandle to the contoured surface for eflicient and attractive mounting.The elongate bracket mounting portion 14 is positioned in relation tothe latching mechanism, or the hinges of a door, whereby optimum forcelocation may be provided. In some instances, it is advantageous toposition the elongate hand receiving portion substantially parallel withthe contoured surface by placing the bracket which receives the elongatebracket mounting portion at right angles to the other bracket. In otherinstances, the elongate bracket mounting portion is positioned at thepoint at which it is desired to urge the hand of the operator tomaximize the eflectiveness of the latch mechanism.

After the brackets have been positioned on the door or contouredsurface, the throwaway pins are removed, releasing the grip. Screws arethreaded into the contoured surface through openings 22, attaching thebrackets to the surface. It should be noted that a screw receivingopening 22 is positioned under saddle 18 of bracket 17. The grip is thenrepositioned in the saddles, and roll pin 20a is inserted throughaligned openings 23 and 24 thereby mounting grip 12 to the pair ofbrackets 17. The roll pin is extremely difficult to remove andtherefore, since a screw 22a is inserted through the bracket under thesaddle, the handle may not be removed.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have pro vided a handle devicewhich is extremely flexible in its use and which may be properly mountedon any and all contoured surfaces, including sharply cornered surfaces.Further, the handle device of my invention may be oriented to co-operatewith a latching device and replace a handle which was formerly alatching device and handle combination. Also, my handle device may beoriented relative to a replacement latch to prevent distortion of thedoor which would otherwise be caused by improper or makeshift handleinstallation. The handle device of my invention may be quickly andefliciently assembled to a contoured surface following the above stepssuch that an accurate assembly may be obtained by a person of minimumskill.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various partswithout departing from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A handle device for mounting on appliance doors comprising:

a pair of separate mounting brackets each having an elongated, doorengaging plate with fastener receiving apertures therein and handle gripengaging means comprising a pair of parallel, spaced apart flangesextending at right angles to said plate, said flanges being locatedinwardly from the opposite ends of said plate and defining a saddletherebetween;

a handle grip having an elongated hand receiving portion;

a first, rigid bracket mounting portion at one end of said handle gripand a second, rigid bracket mounting portion of greater length than saidfirst bracket mounting portion at the opposite end of said handle grip,said first and second bracket mounting portions being angularly disposedwith respect to said elongated hand receiving portion and rotatablysupported within said saddles between said flanges of said mountingbrackets on pivot pins extending therethrough for pivotal movement aboutaxes transverse to said elongated hand receiving portion, whereby eachof said mounting brackets may be pivoted independently so as to permitthe attachment and mating of said handle device on an irregularlycontoured door surface or on door surfaces angularly disposed withrespect to each other, the greater length of said second bracketmounting portion supporting said elongated hand receiving portion at anangle with respect to the surface of said door to provide an enlargedgripping space between said hand receiving portion and the door surface.

2. A handle device as defined in claim 1 wherein:

at least one of said apertures is located between said flanges at thebase of said saddle of each of said mounting brackets so as to becovered by the respective one of said bracket mounting portions whensaid handle grip is assembled to said brackets, thereby preventing theremoval of said handle device after it has been installed on a door.

3. An assembly of the handle device of claim 1 in combination with anappliance door wherein:

said handle device is mounted on said door with said second and longestbracket mounting portion located farthest from the hinge line of saiddoor and closest to the door latch, thereby presenting the largest handgrip opening where the maximum pulling force and leverage will beapplied to disengage the door latch and open said door.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,416,621 2/ 1947 Gretschel16-114 2,910,714 11/1959 Becker 16-114 2,733,031 1/ 1956 Morgillo 248-43 2,922,558 Harvey 161 14 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner D. L.TROUTMAN, Assistant Examiner

